A UK expat working as a real estate agent in Thailand has been jailed for sending defamatory and threatening emails to his former employer.

Andrew Ronald Mathews, formerly of Wolverhampton in the UK, was jailed for 100 days after his employer Rolf Haupt brought a case for defamation and harassment.

Mathews was sentenced to a term of immediate imprisonment by the Court, which had given consideration to a suspended sentence but took into account the fact that Mathews had previously been given three suspended sentences, two for assault and one for aggravated trespass.

Mathews is said to have engaged in a campaign of abusive emails after a business deal went wrong, and Mathews was aggrieved believing he had been cheated.

Lawyers for Haupt told the Court Mathews had been paid in full, and the email campaign had damaged Haupt's reputation and also his business.

Mathews court room drama is not yet over as he will face a further five cases filed by Haupt, including charges of threatening to kill Haupt, which could see Mathews facing a jail term of up to10 years if convicted.